MotherJones Blog: The CIA's Constant Confesser: Michael Hayden Just Can't Stop Admitting Stuff

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The CIA's Constant Confesser: Michael Hayden Just Can't Stop Admitting Stuff

Is it just me, or is CIA director Michael Hayden the least secretive spy ever? First he admitted that the CIA waterboarded detainees. Of course, most of us already knew that, but he helpfully laid out the exact details of the dirty work to Congress. Next, he went ahead and confirmed that at least some of those interrogators were paid outside contractors, rather than the highly trained CIA operatives we thought they were. This news shed even more light on the program, if also somewhat muddying the legal waters. To top it all off, yesterday we learned that on a recent trip to London, Hayden informed the British government that, contrary to previous assurances, the U.S. actually did use UK territory for rendition flights. Oops.

In an internal statement to agency employees on Thursday, Hayden said that a new in-house review of CIA records had turned up the "administrative" error. He made no mention of what prompted the review. This in itself is strange: after all, for years now the agency has maintained a hard line on rendition flights, often flat-out denying their existence. For the most part, details about the program have emerged only as a result of foreign governments' own investigations. In short, the CIA doesn't tell us about stuff when they don't have to. So why the sudden openness?

It could be that Hayden is trying to restore the agency's credibility at a time when its ethics are the focus of increasing scrutiny. His remarks to his staff suggest as much:

The refueling, conducted more than five years ago, lasted just a short time. But it happened. That we found this mistake ourselves, and that we brought it to the attention of the British government, in no way changes or excuses the reality that we were in the wrong. An important part of intelligence work, inherently urgent, complex and uncertain, is to take responsibility for errors and to learn from them.

Historically, "take responsibility for errors and learn from them" has not been a hallmark of the Bush administration's approach to governing. But Hayden could very well still be CIA director in 2009—provided, of course, that the new administration approves of his work. Is he doing penance now in anticipation of a new government, hoping to shore up his Democratic bona fides? Might not be so easy, since every new confession means a new round of damage control.

—Casey Miner

Comments

About Mccain...Seems to me he has been riding the coat-tails of his unfortunate Vietnam experience all the way to the Senate and now the presidential race. Useing old footage in his ads is just another example of his'pretend version of integrity'. His first wife, who waited for him during that war? I guess she wasn't perfect enough for his 'story'. John Mccain is as phoney as they come!!!

Posted by: Lynne on 02/22/08 at 12:16 PM Respond

Very Nice Catch 22 Here--first the Govt. avers we don't kidnap and torture, then Hayden turns 180 degrees and admits it...

But is it so startling that Adolf--opps, sorry--rather, that George W. decided that a U.S. citizen could be held and systematically tortured, completely dependant upon secret hearsay evidence extracted by torture in a secret prison...

Imagine being held incommunicado--with no access to a lawyer, with no right to review the evidence against yourself, with no trial--until the day when no more global terrorist organizations are left in the world...

I know, I know--we are going forward... Following its investigation of COINTELLPRO in 1974, the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (The Church Committee) reported: "The Govt. has often undertaken the secret surveillance of citizens on the basis of their political beliefs, even when those beliefs poised no threat of violence or illegal acts ... The Govt., operating primarily through secret informants, but also using other intrusive techniques such as wiretaps,microphone "bugs," mail opening, and break-ins ... Groups and individuals have been harassed and disrupted because of their political views ... Unsavory and vicious tactics have been employed--including anonymous attempts to break up marriages, disrupt meetings, ostracize persons from their professions, and provoke target groups into rivalries that might result in deaths ... Govt. officials--including those whose principal duty is to enforce the law--have violated or ignored the law over long periods of time and have advocated and defended their right to break the law."

Sure, we all know that secret agent Hayden is playing agent provocateur--but, really, is he?

Consider how he's remained silent about how "One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired or demoted. Or worse," Iraq corruption whistleblowers face penalties, MSNBC on-line.

Anyway, Hayden has long been known for his refreshing candor... He was the charming fellow who ingenuously disclosed how warrantless surveillance merely required the approval of a shift supervisor; and Hayden was against seeking retroactive court approval because it required marshaling arguments," Bush Addresses Uproar Over Spying, Washington Post.

Posted by: Michael L. Wagner on 02/22/08 at 2:24 PM Respond

Is it just me--one of my DC Circuit lawsuits was wrongly dismissed by a judge the suit named as a defendant!!!!; then another such named judge wrongly denied my Motion for Reconsideration!!!!; and Hon. Urbina wrongly dismissed my lawsuit--citing an argument the cited Court explicitly decided against!!!!, namely, "The Executive Branch has exclusive authority and absolute discretion to decide whether to investigate or prosecute," US v. Nixon.

Is it just me--that the ACLU is ignoring????

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